My Life as a Quant

What Hacker News says

1. bchernyMay 2024
   I listen to Acquired religiously, but felt this particular episode was pretty weak. They went through Zuckerman's The Man Who Solved the Market [0] chapter by chapter, butchering a few parts because the hosts don't know quant finance well (though they seem to know VC and product very well).

   I'd recommend just reading the book instead. I'd also recommend Derman's My Life as a Quant [1] for a broader take at other firms around the same time that Renaissance was taking off.

   [0] https://a.co/d/6x7ALkr

   [1] https://a.co/d/5vWBOce

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2. KRAKRISMOTTJun 2023
   Physicists are popular because they deal with uncertainty and complex models across the time domain, which is another description of markets. When you zoom out far enough, a fluid dynamicist and a market making quant are not that different.

   If you want books about trading mathematics and interviews in general, the green book (practical guide to quant finance interviews by Zhou) is the usual go-to. Falcon's Heard On the Street is another classic. Note both of these focus on generic interviews (the quant equivalent of leetcoding) usually for recruiting fresh grads directly out of school. You can probably skip some steps if you have the work experience or know the right people at certain funds.

   If you want actual books on trading and modeling, that's another topic entirely.

   Figure out which area specifically you are interested in: https://teddit.net/r/wallstreetbets/comments/kcs4xy/what_qua...

   If you want an autobiography, Emanuel Derman's My Life as a Quant is well-regarded. I have never read it myself but Amazon has often recommended me The Physics of Wall Street.

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3. bidirectionalJan 2022
   > I think I tend to automatically think of Goldman as being relatively small and full of bankers coming up with crazy ideas for weird trades or products,

   I think that was the case in the 80s maybe. Alongside obviously traditional investment banking. Emanuel Derman is a legendary quant who was at Goldman for quite a few years and has a great autobiography 'My Life As A Quant' which describes Goldman at the time as quite a small company, relatively speaking.

   There is also infamous internal resistance to doing anything too related to consumer banking, which is only just being overcome. People at GS wanted to focus on the glamorous stuff like structured products or mergers and acquisitions, and worried that moving into e.g. retail saving accounts would cause a drop in prestige.

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4. barrenkoNov 2021
   Readers of this thread might be interested in reading "My Life as a Quant" by Emanuel Derman.
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5. parallel_itemJan 2019
   Some finance books I love (and reread frequently). These books are more about characters and stories, more than traditional non-fiction.

   My Life as a Quant by Emanuel Derman

   The Quants by Scott Patterson

   A Man for All Markets by Edward O. Thorp

   Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefevre

   Flash Boys by Michael Lewis

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6. slickrickApr 2012
   Going by your assumptions, you will be far ahead of the curve. the principles of physics and the mathematics that underpin it are skills you can take anywhere. Computer science students are generally not math illiterate, but a BS in physics will arm you with that ability to out gun any CS student.

   I don't know what you want to do in life, but if you know physics, a few languages, and have rock solid higher level math skills then the sky is the limit. David Pines spoke at my sister's graduation and he changed my outlook on life, hence my praise for the field.

   I reccomend reading "Forunte's Formula" by poundstone, Complexity The emerging science at the edge of order and chaos by waldrop. My life as a quant by dermann. Oh and And Ploya's "How to solve it". If that doesn't give you an idea of how valuable a legitimate BS in physics is then I'm afraid you cannot be helped.

   CS degree or not what matters at the end of the day are your own abilities.

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